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Forum:Article explores ME as perhaps the most important sci-fi story of our time.
Not written by me, just found the article and thought I would share. Why Mass Effect is the Most Important Science Fiction Universe of Our Generation :Very nice read. Thanks for sharing. Lancer1289 04:03, February 18, 2012 (UTC) Bleh, I was with this up until the "Jennifer Hale's voicing as Shepard is widely considered superior." I agree with just about every other point in this article, but that is complete bullshit. If anything, Meer and Hale are pretty much equal. But calling either one "superior" to the other is just ridiculous, especially since they're both SO good. Well, from the end of ME1 on, at least (they were both pretty terrible at it in the beginning and middle of ME1, Meer with his rigidity and Hale with reading almost every line with the wrong emotions). But by the end of the game they loosened up, and both ended up incredible. It just really gets to me when people call one or the other "superior." Especially since I'm not a big fan of Hale's voice (it's just not for me) and because I'm such a big fan of Mark Meer's, and it pisses me off when people tell me that I'm "wrong" to like one more than the other. I respect both of them equally, and I do believe that it's a matter of opinion. I would never tell anyone that Mark Meer's voice is superior to Jennifer Hale's. I understand the appeal of Hale's voice, and I'd never take it away from anyone, but it's just not for me. I have specific reasons for not liking Hale's, all of which are matters of my own opinion, and it bothers me when people can so casually say that one is "widely considered superior." Because that's not only rude to the fans and to Meer himself, but it's flat-out incorrect. However, other than that, this article is incredibly well-written and true. --HellfireDezzy 04:37, February 18, 2012 (UTC) :Language. Keep it appropriate or don't comment. Lancer1289 04:47, February 18, 2012 (UTC) That was an awesome read, thanks for finding it. Arbington 05:01, February 18, 2012 (UTC) Great read! Thanks for finding it! LordDeathRay 06:47, February 18, 2012 (UTC) Contsantsly talking about Shepard as a she annoyed me. So did the whole "godless" universe idea. It portrays Mass Effect as an athieistic game.--Legionwrex 07:20, February 18, 2012 (UTC) ::For me the text is great, and I like it when games do not "include" religion, I say this as a religious person, 'cause there are many different religions on Earth, and if BioWare included one or some of them there would be always those who would be offended in a manner and would feel unimportant and thus excluded.--Morinth's Lover 10:18, February 18, 2012 (UTC) :::Well, religion does exist in the ME universe -- you can read about alien races' spiritual beliefs in the Codex, and there's Mordin's exploration of religion after his genophage work. (If you bring Liara along to Peak 15 on Noveria, she can also comment on the salarian who committed suicide -- apparently belief in reincarnation is common in their culture.) I like the way it's treated in general -- it's there in the background, which is realistic, but you're not beaten over the head with it. Diyartifact 20:48, February 19, 2012 (UTC) Excellent read. I'll say what I've always said before: Jennifer Hale rocks. Even the new default femshep looks remarkably like her. As for the content, Kyle Munkittrick correctly asserts that humans aren't the big ones in the galaxy and that there are many races on our tier and on either side of it, that what makes humans unique is somewhat, but not completely poignant when dealing with many more species. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem 12:55, February 18, 2012 (UTC) @Morinth Lover, but thats just it, Mass Effect does include human religion.--Legionwrex 19:54, February 19, 2012 (UTC) :: How so? I know that Cerberus news included religion news, but I never noticed any major religion mentions in any of ME games. :::Well ingame Ashley says she believes in God, I suppose it could mean anything but I always took it as her being a Christian.--Legionwrex 20:13, February 19, 2012 (UTC) :::: To be honest, believing in God does not make one religious. Many of my friends believe in God but do not find them selves as religious persons or even members of Islam or Christianity or any other religion to be exact. :::::I am aware of that, thats why I said "I suppose that can mean anything". But like you already said, human religions are mentioned on Cerberus News.--Legionwrex 20:28, February 19, 2012 (UTC) I like the article, but I disagree with its interpretation of the game. Certainly the series starts out with humanity as a second-tier galactic power at best, but by the end of the first game we're on the Council (we may even *be* the Council with a Renegade ending) and have gained the respect of the great powers of the galaxy. ME2 portrays humans more as peers with the other galactic races, and fairly well-integrated members of galactic society (to such a degree that it actually felt a little dissonant with ME1) -- by that point in the games' story, humans are portrayed less as a second-class race, and more as simply one species out of many, no better but also no worse than the others. More generally, while you could read a nihilistic message into the Reapers' cycle of extinction, and the trap they lay for organic life with their technology, there's always a current of hope in the story of Mass Effect. Sovereign and the heretic geth try to let the Reapers back through the Citadel, but Shepard is able to stop them. The Collectors try to harvest humanity and create a new Reaper, but Shepard is able to stop them. The Reapers invade Earth and try to harvest the whole galaxy, and again presumably Shepard is able to stop them. Perhaps Mass Effect confronts the player with a "godless, meaningless universe indifferent to humanity," but it also gives us the opportunity to create meaning for ourselves, and to make the human race matter to the rest of the galaxy. Diyartifact 21:21, February 19, 2012 (UTC)